Avan Jogia Spills About His New ABC Family Thriller 'Twisted'

After spending three years on Victorious starring opposite Victoria Justice as the token good guy, Avan Jogia has landed another starring role on the small screen. No longer playing the squeaky-clean character (though he is still dreamy, because some things just don't change), the 19-year-old actor snagged the lead on ABC Family drama Twisted, a who-dun-it mystery series that's drawn comparisons to Pretty Little Liars—which basically means it's going to be great. And if you need another reason to tune in, it premieres directly after PLL. You don't even have to change the channel!

We caught up with Avan to find out why just what Twisted is about and why we should watch (other than to see that magnificent hair in action).

What are you up to today?

Twisted has been my life non-stop for the last 3 months. We're shooting all day, every day. It's a darker show and a lot of the stuff takes place at night, so we're out until 5 o'clock in the morning. It's a hard schedule, but it's good because here's the thing: When you're doing something you really want to do and you've been excited to do for a while, it doesn't matter.

So what is Twisted about?

It's set around a kid who, after being in juvie for 5 years because he murdered his aunt, gets out and goes back to his high school. He tries to reconnect with this two best friends in order to try to get back to the life he had before he made such an awful mistake. But then someone at the school gets murdered and everybody blames him.

Wow. So what's your character like?

On the surface, he's charming, charismatic, and funny. He's a magnetic kind of person but you see, as the series goes on, that he's really covering for something inside himself—whether it's something dark, like he's a sociopathic murderer, or whether he just has demons.

So are we supposed to like you, or are you the bad guy?

Well, that's what the show's all about: What do you think of Danny? I don't know how much of a good guy he is, but I don't think he's a bad guy. He will do anything for his friends and the people he loves. He really likes to protect them at all costs.

What was it like to transition from Victorious, a lighthearted sitcom, to such a dramatic show?

It was more serious on the Victorious set, actually. Comedy is a serious business! It's a much more creative and collaborative environment in drama, whereas with comedy, you have to hit your joke at a certain time—it's a skill I had to learn. I learned so much from that show.

Twisted is on right after Pretty Little Liars. Are you a PLL fan?

I watched Pretty Little Liars after getting this job, because I wanted to see what the vibe of the network is and what kind of things they do. Twisted is similar to Pretty Little Liars in that it's about trying to find out who did it, but it's more about the human relationships between characters and the strain that things can put on them. It's also a little bit of a social commentary piece, because it covers very timely issues. I think we have a chance to talk about how responsible we are to portraying these people in the news doing these awful crimes. It's interesting to observe how these kinds of people come about and if we, as a society, are more responsible than we think.

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Have you stayed close with the Victorious cast? Is that something you've been able to do?

I see them. I just went to a BBQ at Elizabeth Gillies's, and they were all there. But we've all been really busy—which is great. We're all on the same page. They're kind of like my college friends. That's how I always describe it. The cast was all from out of town and then suddenly, we're all living in L.A. So we grew up together, and we learned a lot about the industry together. Then "college" ended, so we're all getting jobs. It's like, you gotta get a real job now.

Your long hair has become your trademark of sorts. Will you be able to keep it for the show?

I am keeping it long—but it was not written into my contract. They like the long hair tradition, and so do I. But that might change! If they do end up cutting it, I'll do it. I always do whatever is best for the character.

What are your summer plans? Any other projects coming up?

Right now, my life is this show. When we get some time off, I'll try to pack my bag and get out and go traveling somewhere. I did Europe two years ago, so now I want to do Southeast Asia. Just take a month and go walk around and see some places. Traveling is good for you.